Fish were created on the 5th day of creation

20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

 Genesis 1:20-21

About The Guppy

Found in the in the islands of the southern Caribbean Sea, and as far south as southern Brazil. Guppies are a common aquarium fish. They like to live in small groups. They can stand up to 90 degrees and as low as 60. The life span of the guppy is about 1-4 years. The male’s full grown size is about 1 ¼ inches, and the female’s size is approximately 2 inches. Guppies are very prolific. They are live breeders. This means that they do not lay eggs. A female can have up to 126 babies in one pregnancy, although a more likely number is 25-60. The female guppy gives birth to a new litter every 2-4 weeks. Also, as many as 5 litters can be produced by a single female having only mated once! So as you can see, guppies are very easy to breed. But getting them to adult size can be difficult if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Caring for your guppy

• The tank should be kept at 75-80 degrees.
• Guppies are community fish (not aggressive fish). They should not be housed with tetra fish (aggressive fish).
• Guppies like to live in small groups with each other. Put them in groups of 3-5.
• They should be fed twice a day. Give them as much as they can eat in 3-5 minutes.
• A good food that I recommend is: Tetra Color Tropical Flakes natural color enhancer. I don’t really know how natural it is, but it really does enhance their colors. I switched my guppy’s diet to this food. Within a few days I was amazed that their color had brightened 25%-35%! You can find this food at Wal-Mart.
• How many fish should be in my tank? The rule is: for every gallon of water in your tank, you can have 1 inch of fish.

For example: Let’s say you have some fish. The fish are 2 inches each, and you have a 10 gallon tank. Then you can only have 5 of those fish in your tank

Breeding Guppies

Here are some things you need to know if you are going to breed guppies:

How to tell if you have a male or female? You might say the size. In a way you can be right, but what if the fish aren’t fully grown yet? That could mean they are the same size. So, is there a way to tell those tiny fish apart? Of course there is, and thankfully it’s easy. If you look at the fish, on its belly towards the back, look for a reddish or black spot. If the guppy has the spot, it is a female. But if no spot appears, then you have a male.  Somtimes you can tell by color too.  Males are usually more colorful but not always.

You can now tell if the fish is male or female. So, are you ready for the hard part?

Here’s the question: Is the female pregnant or not?

This can be difficult to tell; so difficult that I’m still working on it. If you do a search the internet you might find a site that says “You can tell by her spot. If it’s dark she’s pregnant.” This is some times true, but I have learned not to depend upon it. Sometimes, my fish have given birth, even though their spots weren’t dark, but were red. You might say, well what about if she’s fat? That seems pretty obvious, right? Yes, this can be true also, but I like to make sure that my guppies are well fed and not starving. When breeding, you want to feed them well. The guppy might just be well fed. So, do you give up? You need to compare females to females. I have about 7 female guppies, and that helps me greatly. It takes a lot of observation to pick a pregnant guppy. Things I do to help me decide: I look at how dark her spot is and how fat she is but, as I said above, that’s not dependable. I watch their actions. When a female guppy gets ready to give birth she will hide and separate herself from the school. She will also pant a lot when pregnant. I also keep track of each guppy’s litter, to help me determine when the next litter might be.

Now, what do you do with your pregnant guppy?

You need to put her in a breeder net or a plastic breeder trap. Often the moms will eat their young, so provide plants or something for the babies to hide in. It can take several hours for the mom to finish giving birth. As soon as she is done, remove her and place her back with the other guppies. If you have failed in your selection, (in picking out a pregnant female) don’t worry, she will have more babies. If you notice babies swimming free in the tank, you can try to catch them and place them in the breeder net.

How to feed the young

With egg laying fish you have to feed them microscopic food because the hatchlings are so small. Thankfully guppies are born and not hatched; thus the baby guppies are larger than hatchlings. Take some fish food and place it in a zip lock bag. With a hammer, smash the food, outside on a hard surface, until it is powder. Then offer a little to the young. They may not eat it for a few hours after birth. The babies will soon get the hang of eating. Then you will need to feed them twice a day. Once they grow four times their birth size, put them in a different tank and watch them grow. It will take several weeks for them to reach adult size, even a couple months, depending on the size of the tank.

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